Gen-Select Bioweapon
The Gen-Select Bioweapon was a highly-advanced biological weapon used in the Wing Commander universe. It plays a major role in the events of Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom. About The Gen-Select Bioweapon was spawned during the Black Lance Conspiracy of 2673. During that year, the Black Lance, a rogue faction of the Terran Confederation being led by Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn, was instigating war between the Confederation and the Union of Border Worlds in an elaborate attempt to re-militarize humanity. They feared attacks from enemy alien races greater than the Kilrathi, who the humans had fought with for over thirty-five years. Their plan was to initiate war in order to necessitate the expansion and advancement of the Navy and its technologies as well as ensuring that humans were physically strong enough to face future enemies. They hoped to accomplish this by separating genetically "undesirable" humans and leaving only the physically strong ones to fight the wars. Thus, the Gen-Select Bioweapon was brought to the drawing boards. Development The Gen-Select Bioweapon was commissioned for manufacture by the Black Lance without the approval of the Great Assembly on Earth. Dr. Tuesday Brody, a leading scientist in the field of bio-convergence, was approached with the project, as only she possessed the skills to design it. However, it is likely that she was hired under an elaborate ruse to trick her into thinking the project was for peaceful purposes. Unfortunately for the Black Lance, Dr. Brody was captured by Border Worlds forces and taken to a facility on Tyr VII, deep within Border Worlds territory. Confed forces led by Colonel Christopher Blair and Captain William Eisen of the TCS Lexington were eventually successful in extracting Dr. Brody from her captivity, but they were at the time unaware of the conspiracy around them. Dr. Brody was taken to the Black Lance's secret HQ in the Axius System, where she was forced to develop the Gen-Select Bioweapon. Function The Gen-Select Bioweapon took on the appearance of large black canisters that contained billions of microscopic nanobots that were to be deployed within a planet's atmosphere and would be spread among the populace. The nanobots would penetrate every human's body and deploy themselves along their DNA strand. The nanobots would use a predetermined genetic code to compare the victim's DNA with the DNA standards set in the nanobots' codes. The predetermined code called for a certain percentage of body fat, strength of muscles, bone strength, IQs, etc. If the victim's physical traits did not satisfy the code, the nanobots attacked that victim's RNA, ceasing the production of cells in the body and leaving the victim to suffer a slow and agonizing death. Within a matter of days, the victim's body is so badly mutilated that it becomes difficult to identify them. Those victims who matched the code were spared this fate, as they had been deemed worthy to survive by the Black Lance. The Telamon Genocide Upon completion, the Black Lance set out to conduct immediate tests of this illegal weapon. They chose to test it on the planet Telamon, a remote Border Worlds colony that possessed a small airbase. Led by the genetically-enhanced supersoldier Seether, a wing of Black Lance pilots piloted a squadron of Dragon Heavy Fighters to attack Telamon. Several canisters from the Gen-Select Bioweapon were launched into the atmosphere, infecting the entire population. The colony sent a distress call to the nearby BWS Intrepid, which immediately responded to the disaster. A force of marines were led to the airbase by Colonel Blair, who had defected to the Border Worlds, only to discover that 90% of the population had been slaughtered. The piles of dead bodies would cause diseases like cholera to break out among the survivors. This grisly scenario forced the Border Worlds and the survivors to abandon Telamon, and prompted Colonel Blair to further investigate the matter. With the success of the test on Telamon, the Black Lance immediately set out to plan new attacks all across human space, which would surely result in the deaths of billions of humans. However, the Black Lance had not won just yet. Discovery by the Border Worlds Using a captured Black Lance heavy fighter, Colonel Blair infiltrated the Black Lance facility in the Axius System, where the Telamon attackers had been traced. Blair discovered the Gen-Select Bioweapon canisters in the hangar bay and proceeded to identify the perpetrators. He found them to be Seether and his old rival, Admiral Tolwyn. Upon learning that they intending on unleashing the weapon on the whole of humanity, Blair fled to warn the Confed government on Earth. While evading Black Lance security forces, Blair ran into Dr. Brody, who had been imprisoned even as she was working on the weapon. She and Blair fled the station to warn the authorities, only for Brody to be fatally shot by Black Lance guards. Blair killed them off, but Brody was too far gone. She gave Blair some vital intelligence to present to his men before she died in front of him. Blair made it back to the Intrepid and raced to Earth to stop the declaration of war against the Border Worlds. After killing Seether and decimating Tolwyn's forces, Blair stormed the Hall of the Great Assembly and revealed to the Senators and his old friend, Senator James Taggart, how Tolwyn had used illegal weapons against innocent colonists. The Assembly was shocked by the existence of the Gen-Select Bioweapon, and this was one of the many reasons that the Assembly rejected Tolwyn's call for war against the Border Worlds. The Banning of the Gen-Select Bioweapon Following the discovery of Tolwyn's treachery, he was tried and convicted for crimes against humanity, most especially the genocide on Telamon. He would later be sentenced to death, but committed suicide on the discovery that if he had succeeded in deploying the bioweapon, he would have destroyed humanity out of a vain effort to defend it. The Black Lance were later disbanded, and the weapon ceased production. The Terran Confederation banned the further use of this insidious device, sparing billions from a horrific fate at Tolwyn's hands. External Links *Wing Commander CIC Category:Technology